Ciro Terranova (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtʃiːro ˌtɛrraˈnɔːva]; July 20, 1888 − February 20, 1938) was an Italian-born American gangster in New York City, and one time underboss of the Morello crime family.
Years later, Ciro, Vincenzo, Nicolo, and Giuseppe would found the powerful Morello crime family.
They eventually traveled to Louisiana, where the father planted sugar cane, then moved to Bryan, Texas, where they worked as cotton pickers.
Ciro later worked as a waiter at a restaurant owned by his stepbrother Giuseppe, at the rear of the Prince Street Saloon.
After the trials ended in June 1903, the Morello crime family continued to deal with police searches and harassment.
Two weeks after the DiMarco hit, but before his arrest, Esposito was ordered to kill Charles Ubriaco and Ciro's half-brother Nicholas, who were discussing peace terms with rival gang members.
When the dust settled, Ciro controlled the 116th Street Crew in Upper Manhattan and Masseria ruled the Bronx.
Tommy Gagliano (who later became boss of the Lucchese crime family) then asked Valachi to take his side in the gang war.
During the early 1930s, New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia led a successful effort to decriminalize the artichoke trade, destroying Terranova's power base.